New Airmar Ultrasonic Speed Transducer

[Dockhead]

I had not heard about this:

https://www.panbo.com/archives/2018/...w_udst800.html

Wow!!

Is anyone using it?

I have been using the old Airmar CS4500 for six years now. It is a vast improvement over paddlewheel logs, but it has some flaws.

This one is direct N2K (the other one needs two boxes to convert), and does depth besides STW. But what is REALLY intriguing to me is that it measures the DIRECTION of the water flow -- something I have long dreamed about. So it DIRECTLY measures leeway, something which would be terrifically useful when sailing upwind.

It would give you something which we don't even have now -- call it THTW -- True Heading Through the Water. Wow!

I think I'm going to grab one of these.

[Dockhead]

One drawback, however -- my instruments cannot display PGN 128000 "nautical leeway", and I can't actually find any instrument which will

[rom]

I am glad you started this thread, some of us were trying to get info about airmar in another thread recently but did not raise much concern. I suppose very few cruisers use such equipment.

Wondering what the racers use I found out that NKE is making two similar equipment:
Ultrasonic speed sensor for about 900 EUR
Electromagnetic speed sensor for about 500 EUR

I cannot find any reference in their doc to the direction of water flow though.

[KeelMe]

Luckily the PGN already exists in NMEA 2000. If it didn't there would be a long uphill battle to see it in our instruments.
We likely won't see it on our instruments and plotters until the manufacturers are selling a rebranded version of the UDST.

EMAIL YOUR MANUFACTURER AND COMMIT TO BUYING ONE

[malyea]

It’s been a year since original post...any user reports from the field?

[Sailor 99]

Originally Posted by malyea

It’s been a year since original post...any user reports from the field?

Seem very expensive to say the least and few seem to have them in their stores